HC Deb 26 March 1973 vol 853 c248W
Mr. Adley

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of vacancies, and what is the total number of unemployed in each of the economic development council areas of the United Kingdom, at the latest date for which figures are available.

Mr. Dudley Smith

Statistics of the numbers unemployed and of unfilled vacancies are compiled by aggregating the figures for employment exchange areas in standard regions, which correspond closely to the economic planning regions. The following table shows provisional figures for March 1973.

Un-employed Unfilled vacancies
South-East 132,265 135,651
East Anglia 15,178 10,868
South-West 39,475 24,287
West Midlands 58,467 26,479
East Midlands 33,741 19,749
Yorkshire and Humberside 64,141 22,542
North-West 117,862 25,130
North 67,875 14,619
Wales 40,215 9,105
Scotland 113,826 18,388
Northern Ireland 34,624 4,400

The vacancy statistics relate only to notified vacancies remaining unfilled and do not purport to measure the total unsatisfied demand for labour.